“God, you’re such a child.”
“Trust me, Cora, I’m not a child.” He winked. “I have the gear to prove it.”
I rolled my eyes and headed for the door. “Good for you.”
He hurried after me into the night. “What did Anna have to say.”
“She’s contacting the silent sisters to make us some glamour.”
“Nice.” He bounded ahead a little then stopped to wait for me, scratching the back of his neck. “We patrolling again tomorrow?”
“Yeah.” I caught up to him. “Regular patrol.”
We walked side by side, but Lauris kept speeding up, forcing me to jog to catch up. “Hey, you in a rush?”
He shot me a sheepish look. “Actually, yeah. I got places to be.”
I arched a brow. “Uh-huh? What places?”
He grinned. “Nah, Cora. My off-the-clock activities are private.”
Hell, I understood the need for space and privacy. “That’s cool with me.”
The cabin came into view, and the hulking figure of a crimson wolf padded out from around the side of the house.
“Ah, looks like my job is done,” Lauris said. “I’ll pick you up for patrol tomorrow.” He blew me a kiss and bounded off.
Leif watched me approach, his eyes dark in the gloom. I picked up the pace, eager to reach him and get indoors.
A warning rumble echoed in his chest and the hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention.
“Leif?”
His haunches bunched, eyes flashing dangerously, then he launched himself at me with a snarl.
What the fuck!
He sailed toward me as if in slow motion. My hands crackled in response to the threat, but my nape pricked in warning. The threat wasn’t Leif, it was thick foreboding at my back.
I spun, palms shooting lightning as Leif sailed over my head and slammed into the dark figure that had been sneaking up on me. He passed right through it and landed lightly before spinning to face me, eyes bright in the gloom, lips pulled back in a snarl.
Where is it?
Fucking hell.
Duck! Leif ordered.
I hit the ground and the air above my head moved with a whoosh.
Leif leapt to land beside me, hackles raised, ready to attack and defend. A golden blur cut through the darkness toward us.
Rune.
Together they flanked me as the dark form materialized several meters away at the edge of the forest.
A man in a long coat and gray slacks.
Glasses glinting in the moonlight.
“Dimitri?”
He adjusted his cuffs and smiled thinly. “No need for the violence. I’m simply here to deliver a message.”
He’s not welcome on our land, Rune said. Tell him to leave.
“You need to leave.” I crossed my arms. “You’re not welcome here.”
“I will, once I—”
Leif snarled and Dimitri flinched.
Not as cool and collected as he made out to be, then.
I smirked. “I suggest you get the fuck on with it.”
“The Sons offer you one chance to avoid bloodshed. Come to them willingly and they will spare your coven. You have six weeks to comply.”
Tell him to go fuck himself, Leif said, low and lethal.
But my pulse was racing as the reality of this situation hit me in the face. Me or the coven.
No, Rune said. You or the fate of humanity. You’re too important. Remember the bigger picture, Cora. Remember what we fight for.
I took a deep breath. “You need to leave now.”
He adjusted his spectacles. “You could come with me. Save your—"
A deep growl rose up from behind Dimitri, then the Renfield was flat on his front, with Tor’s jaws clamped around his nape.
His glasses askew, Dimitri looked up at me flatly. “You can’t kill me. You c—”
A sharp crack split the night. The sound of his neck snapping.
Tor released him and fixed his eyes on us. Get inside. Now.
I tore my attention from Dimitri’s dead eyes and allowed Rune and Leif to herd me back to the house. I sensed Tor right behind us. The door was yanked open and Halle stepped back to let us in.
Heat kissed my skin and the change in temp from chilly to warm had me tearing off my jacket and stripping off my polo sweater so I was in a vest and jeans.
“Cora!” Wren hugged my leg.
“You okay?” Halle asked.
Prickling power stung my skin as Tor and Leif shifted to human form.
“I’m fine.” I picked Wren up and hugged him.
Tor pulled on his jeans and boots before heading back out. “I’ll put the body in the garage, you call Anna.”
Leif finished tugging on his boxers. “On it.”
I followed Tor and stood in the doorway as he clomped across the porch, the powerful muscles of his naked back rippling in the moonlight.
He came to a halt at the steps. “Motherfucker.”
I followed his gaze to the spot where he’d broken Dimitri’s neck.
The body was gone.
Chapter Thirteen Jasper
I materialize in Fee’s quarters at the Dominus house. She’s seated at the dresser, wrapped in a robe, running a brush through her silver-blonde hair. Her gaze locks on me in the mirror. She pauses mid-stroke and whirls to face me.
“What’s happened?” she demands. “What’s happened to Cora?”
I roll my eyes. “As if you care.”
Her delicate jaw hardens, and she pushes to her feet, eyes narrowed. “I know you don’t like me, Jasper, and frankly, I don’t give a fuck, but if you try to come between Cora and me, I’ll—”
“Do what?” I tip my head to the side. “If you haven’t noticed, Cora has her own life now, her own destiny. She’s no longer your lackey.”
“My lackey?” She frowns. “Is that what she thinks?”
This is my chance to let her believe the lie, but it sits like ash on my tongue. “No,” I concede. “That’s the problem. She doesn’t see it. But I do. I see the number of times she’s put herself in the line of fire for you. How many times she’s put you first and herself second. I won’t allow it to continue.”
She’s looking at me as if I’ve grown horns, and I’m almost tempted to reach up and touch my forehead to check.
“You genuinely care for her, don’t you?” she says.
She stares
